Rotary pump.



Patented R. HAGAN.

ROTARY PUMP.

APPLlcATIoN man FEB. s. 191e.

May 1, 1917. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

w Mw R. HAGAN. ROTARY PUMP.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 5| ISIS.

l,224,56'7 Patented May l, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2`.

me mmm; Pneus co., rnoroALnno. wAsnmmom n c RALPH RAGAN, .OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

ROTARY PUMP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 1, 1917.

Application filed February 5, 1916. Serial No. 76,367.

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RALPH RAGAN, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident ofAtlanta, Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Pumps, of which the following is a specification.

One feature of the invention disclosed herein relates to thatclass of rotary pumps especially adapted for high duty, whether gas or liquid which comprise a rotor,having suitable impellers, mounted thereon, and a valve member coperating therewith, the rotor and the valve member rotating within a suitable housing, and it consists in fmounting the impellers for radial movement in the rotor whereby the outer faces .of .the impellers may be kept in contact with the walls of the impeller chamber, and in making such outer faces of such length that their forward ends will seat against the walls of the impeller before the rear ends pass out of Contact with the valve element, whereby contact with the wall of the vchamber or with the valve element is insured at yall times to prevent slippage. This also avoids the necessity of the useof stops to limit the outward movement of the impellers.

Another feature of this invention consists vin so mounting the impellers of a rotary pump that they will be thrown outwardly against thel housing by centrifugal force or by the back pressure of the fluid, or by both combined.

A further object is to provide a washerfor the rotary element of a rotary pump having means whereby such washer is held against the sides of the rotary elements as wear occurs betweenthese parts, to prevent slippage.

It further consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of the -parts fof which it is composed, as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

Referring tothe accompanying drawings inwhich corresponding parts are designated by corresponding marks of reference,-

Figure 1 is a central transverse section through a pump embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is an elevation thereof with the cover removed.

Figs. 3 and 4 are views similar to Fig. 2, A

The pump housing 1, has a circular chamber 2, and a second chamber 3, having at least a part of its wall circular, the two chambers being connected to each other by a throat 4, less in width than the diameter of the chamber 2. A plate 5 is bolted upon the chambered face of the housingl and forms a cover for the chambers.

The housing and cover plate are suitably strengthened in line with the centers of chambers, and form bearings -6 for the shafts 7 and 8. The shaft 7 thus supported at the center of the chamber 2 has keyed thereto the rotor 9, while the shaft 8, sup-V ported4 at center of the chamber 3 has the valve element 10 keyed thereto.

An induction port 11, and an eduction port 12 are formed in the housing on the opposite sides of the line joiningy the centers of the two shafts, preferably at the throat 4. Supplemental eduction ports 12a may be provided closeto the center line to prevent the formation of a vacuum at that point.

The shafts 7 and 8 are geared together by the `gears 12 and 13, and motion may be imparted thereto in any suitable manner, as through the shaft 8, so that the rotary members ,move past the eduction port toward the induction port as indicated by the arrows, in Figs. 3 and 4.

The rotor 9 consists of a circular casting whose diameter is less .than that of chamber 2, whereby an annular space 14 is left between the rotor and the walls of the chamber, and has a .thickness from side to side less than the depth of the chamber 2.

One or more radial slots 15 are formed in the periphery of the rotor, in each of which snugly fits the stem 16 of an impeller 17. The head of the impeller has its outer surface of considerable length and struck on an arc whose radius is the same as the radius of chamber 2, such outer surface being if desired, connected to the radial faces of the stem by faces 1S inclined to the radii on which they are located. The lthickness of the impellers should be the same as the rotor, and their stems should fit within the slots with sufficient freedom to move outwardly therein under the centrifugal force due to their speed and weight (the bear against the circular walls of thechamber 2, and against the valve element as will be described.

The valve element 10 is likewise in the form of a cylinder and is of the same thickness as the rotor. Its diameter is such that it fits snugly against the rotor, and also against the circular portion of the wall of the chamber 3 in which it is contained. It is provided with one or more peripheral recesses 19 to receive the heads of the impellers. The bottom of each recess 19 is an arc struck from the center of the valve element with such a radius that when a recess is on the line of centers its bottom is at a distance from the center of the rotor equal to or less than the radius of the rp r chamber. if al The ratio between the gears 12 and 13 is such that the intermesh between the impellers and the recesses is obtained and the length of the impellers is such that the forward or rear end of an impeller is against the base of the corresponding recess before its rear or forward end has left con-y tact with the circular wall of thel rotor chamber 2 at the point where such wall is interrupted by the throat 4. The first sta-ted position is shown in full lines in Fig. 4, and the second position in dotted lines thereon. In a suitable recess 21 formed in the wall of the chamber 3, may be located an arc-shaped packing 22, pressed by a spring 23 against the peripheral wall of the valve element.

Within the recesses 2 and 3, and bearing on the outer sides of the rotor and valve element is located a washer 25, which is suitably apertured for the passage of the shafts 7 and 8, and which may be strengthened bythe webs 26. The washeris thus between the cover 5 and the rotary elements, and is pressed against the latter by springs 27-27L contained in the continuous groove 28 in the walls of the chambers 2 and 3 at the outer or cover ends thereof. The outer wall 29 of this groove is tapered outwardly and upwardly. The springs are in the form of a split ring 27, and a part ring 27a, the former being seated in that part of the groove which is formed in the walls of the chamber 2, and the latter in that part formed in the wall of the chamber 3. Each of these rings has a beveled face 28a, corresponding in inclination with the wall 29 of the groove, and as the rings are inserted in place while under compression, and have their lower faces resting on the washer 25, they will, when released, eXert a we dging action to hold the latter against the impeller and valve element, and thus hold the latter against the base of the chambers 2 and 3 even though wear occur in the contacting surfaces. Thus leakage past the ends of the rotor is prevented.

The general scheme of operation of a structure such as described'is obvious, viz., that fluid contained in the annular space 14 is driven by the impeller 17 forwardly and out of the eduction port, the space in the rear of the impeller being in turn filled by fluid entering through the induction port, but particular attention is directed to the following.

As the impellers are movable radially, they will, for reasons stated herein, be held at theiroutward limit against the circular walls of the rotor chamber as long as their angular position around the center thereof permits such contact. Thus slip is prevented. As and before the rear end of an impeller passes from the wall of the rotor chamber at the throat thereof, its forward end entering the recess 19, and rocking on, and in contact with the base thereof in passing the line of centers, and after passing such line its forward end bears upon the wall of the rotor chamber at the other side of said throat, before the rear end of the impeller leaves the recess. The construction here shown permits the parts to be machined to accomplish this, and at chambers, and the line of centers of the chambers. As the contact between the impellers and the wall of the rotor chamber is a sliding one, more wear will take place in such walls than on the base of the recess, which has a. rolling contact with the impeller face. Thus, after use, the base of the recess may project slightly within the circle of the walls of the impeller chamber, but this is taken care of by the radial movement of the impeller, and it will be seen in such a case, that the pressure side vof the impeller will be separated from the suction side thereof by contact between the impeller and the valve-element. It will also be seen in such a case that in moving on the wall of the rotor chamber again, this last named contact is maintained until the impeller passes from off the valve elcment and is allowed to move outwardly against the wall of the rotor chamber. Thus the outward movement of the impellers is at all times controlled by surfaces coperating with their curved outer faces, dispensing with the use of special stops.

The inclined faces 18 on the impeller, when given the slope shown, serve by the reaction of their thrust upon the Huid, to forcibly hold the outer arc-shaped faces of the impeller against the parts coperating therewith. As however, under certain speeds of rotation it may be that centrifugal force will be so great as to cause excessive friction between the impellers and the walls of the chamber 2, I may, if I so desire, reverse the inclination of such inclined faces so that-the radial component of the thrust react-ion is inwardly, instead of outwardly. A face suitable for this purpose is shown at 18a.

As a supplemental means for controlling the radial pressure on an impeller', I may mount in a suitable chamber in the rotor, a weight 30 connected to the impeller by a lever 3l of the first order. The elements of this structure may be such as to reduce to any desired degree, the effected action of centrifugal force on the impeller.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,-

l. In a rotary pump, the combination with a housing containing connected chambers, of a driven rotor and valve element contained in the said chambers and having their peripheries in contact, of a recess in the periphery of the valve-element, and a radially movable impeller on the rotor entering said recesses and whose outer face bears on the wall of the inclosing chamber, and is of such length as to bear on such wall before it leaves such recess.

2. In a rotary pump, the combination with a housing containing connected chambers, of a driven rotor and valve element contained in the said chambers, and having their peripheries in contact, of a recess in the periphery of the valve-element, the base of the recess being struck from the center of rotation of the valve element, and a radially movable impeller on the rotor whose outer face is struck from the center of rotation of the rotor and which on entering the recess in the valve-chamber bottoms therein before its opposite end leaves the wall of the rotor chamber.

3. In a rotary pump, the combination with a housing containing connected chambers, of a driven rotor, and a valve element contained in said chambers and having their peripheries in contact, of a recess in the periphery of the valve element, the base of the recess being struck from the center of rotation of the valve element, and a radially movable impeller on the rotor whose outer face is struck from the center of rotation of the rotor, and subtends a greater arc than the arc between the line of centers of the chamber and the junction of their walls.

4. In a rotary pump, the combination with a housing containingconnected chambers, of a driven rotor and valve element contained in the chamber and having their peripheries in contact, of a recess in the periphery of the valve element, and a radially movable impeller on the rotor whose outer face is struck from the center of rotation of the rotor and which, on entering the recess of the valve chamber and after leaving the wall of the rotor chamber, is limited in its outward movement by the bottom of the said recess.

5. In a rotary pump, the combination with a housing containing connected chambers, of a driven rotor and valve element contained in the said chambers and having their peripheries in contact, of a recess in the periphery of the valve element, and a radially movable impeller on the rotor whose outer face bears on the bottom of the recess when fully therein, and is of such a length to bear on such bottom before it leaves the wall o-f the rotor chamber.

6. In a rotary pump, the combination with a driven rotor and its inclosing chamber, the rotor having a peripheral slot therein, and an impeller mounted to slide in such slot, and having an impelling face formed at an angle to the radius on which it is situated so that the reaction of the impulse thrust has a radial component.

7. In a rotary engine, the combination with a rotor and its inclosing chamber, of an impeller mounted on the rotor for radial movement and subjected to centrifugal force due to movement of the rotor, and a centrifugal member also mounted on the rotor and coupled with the impeller to reduce the centrifugal pressure acting on the impeller.

8. In a rotary pump, the combination with a housing having intersecting chambers therein provided with a groove in the outer ends of the walls thereof, of rotary members contained in such chambers, a washer located in the outer end of such chambers outside of the rotary members, and spring rings seated in the said groove, the rings and groove being each provided with cooperating inclined faces against which the expansible force of the rings is exerted to hold the washer against the rotary elements.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name.

RALPH RAGAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C. 

